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Rabbi Shalem Shabazi—Greatest Poet of Yemen



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Max Stern

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DOI:10.17265/2159-5836/2024.11.002

Ariel University, Ariel, Israel

Shalem Shabazi, acknowledged and revered as the greatest Yemenite poet is an unknown figure to the English-speaking world. His name appears in no general encyclopedia. His works are not to be found in any general literary anthology or collection of poetry. Yet in his lifetime it is said he wrote 15,000 poems, many of which have been lost. He enriched Hebrew literature, creating in the shadow of the Psalms, in a mood of longing for the Temple. He gave form to the wedding ceremony, conceived in the image of the Song of Songs (Canticles) as a sacred consecration, a bond between God and his people. He wrote many books, but only one, “Hemdat Hayamim” survives. His songs are sung at every table and occasion where Yemenite Jews gather to celebrate their heritage, since the day they were written to the present.

Diwan, Kabbalah, R. Isaac Luria, Jewish mysticism, Yemen, Yemenite Jewish Poet, Taiz, Tikun Hazot, Sefer Yetzirah, Yemenite Jews

Journal of Literature and Art Studies, November 2024, Vol. 14, No. 11, 955-960